São Paulo – Tourist spending is set to rise in the United Arab Emirates in coming years and is expected to reach USD 56 billion in 2022, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported, quoting a Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry survey that drew on data from Business Monitor International and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).
The survey says expenditures by tourists will be 4.5% higher this year than last. In 2016, tourism revenue came out to USD 43.3 billion, with 77% coming from leisure travel and 23% from business trips. The UAE saw 14.9 million tourists in 2016, up 4.9% from the year before.
The majority of visitors came from within the Middle East, at 28.6%. Travelers from the Asia-Pacific amounted to 25.7% of all inbound tourists to the UAE. Europe was the third biggest source at 17.1%.
WAM said new megaprojects are and will keep driving the industry in years to come. Three years from now Dubai will host Expo 2020, the world exhibition held by Bureau International des Expositions. The emirate is expecting 20 million people to flock in during that year.
Besides the infrastructure for the expo, new projects in the UAE include the Marsa Al Arab, a mega tourist resort costing USD 1.7 billion near Burj Al Arab, the famed luxury hotel. Last year saw the opening of theme park IMG Worlds of Legends, with a second phase still to come, and a number of other tourist attractions, malls and culture-oriented facilities.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum